New strict cancellation policy update

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

The Airbnb team heard feedback from you and the host community about the upcoming change to our Strict cancellation policy. In order to address your concerns, we’re delaying the change until May 1, 2018.

Before the change goes into effect, we’ll share more about what we’re doing to address your concerns, particularly around protecting your listing details from being shared with guests who cancel. But for now, we’d like to clear up some confusion and help you better understand the new policy and how it will benefit the whole community:

Here’s how the new grace period policy will work—and some of the protections we have in place for hosts:

Limited-time refund within 48 hours after booking when the check-in date is at least 14 days away

Guests must cancel within 48 hours after booking and can only cancel if their check-in date is 14+ days away. This means that no matter how far out your guests book, they only have 48 hours from the time they book to cancel for free. We want to make sure that if guests change their mind, you have enough time to get another booking.

Three refunds per year per guest

To prevent abuse, guests are limited to three fully refunded cancellations a year.

No full refunds for overlapping bookings

To make sure guests are not making multiple bookings and then cancelling, any booking made by a guest when they already have an active booking for those dates will not be covered under our grace period policy.

Your hosting success is top of mind for us, and tests of this policy—including among hosts with strict cancellation policies in place—strongly suggest the change will result in increased bookings and successful stays. With this grace period, not only do guests book with more confidence, but they also have the ability to resolve booking mistakes without requiring your valuable time and intervention.

We value your feedback, and will follow up shortly with more insight into how your ideas are shaping this policy.

Thanks,

Lizzie

----------Update April 24th, 2018----------

Hello everyone,

Just to let you know there is now an update regarding protecting your listing details, as mentioned above. 

Here is the link to take a look: An update on the Strict Cancellation Policy

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Carla398]

Correct. Under no circumstance I agree to releasing my info if rhe guests can cancel. Other curious hosts may use this information to benefit themselves outside of the platform. Also guests may try to visit the property before the rental and then cancel. 

[Lizzie]

Hello @Carla398 and @Paul926,

Thanks for feedback here. As you mention concernes around the release of listing information, I wanted to let you know there is an update about this now. Take a look here. 

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Sean119]

@Lizzie Just an observation...this thread has over 368 comments, but it isn't listed in the "Top" 10 ranked threads...none of which contain more than 30 comments.

This is another example of how ABB tries to control the dialogue...and why hosts get annoyed.

[Lizzie]

Hello @Sean119,

I hope you are good.

Thanks for checking about this. This Cancellation Policy Update thread, did actually make it to the 'Top' section and was displayed there when it was first created. The way the 'Top' section works on the Community Center Homepage, is that one of the criteria to be automatically shown here is that all posts are relatively new and are therefore created within a set timeframe. As this discussion is now over a week old it is no longer appearing. I agree though, it would be fantastic for it to appear on the CC Homepage and so you will see that I have now added it to one of the 'Featured' boxes. 

We really want to hear feedback on this policy and this is why we have opened this discussion here.

If you have additional thoughts on the way the 'Top' section works on the CC Homepage, it would be great to hear any suggestions for improvements on this. Please do start a new topic or feel free to DM me directly, so that we don't move away from the focus of the discussion here. 

Thanks again and I hope this helps to clarify this a little more.

Lizzie

[Ann10]

@Sean @Sam @Lizzie- I sent Lizzie a message asking what was going on w the new SH criteria. No response! @Lizzie, since you shut down the other thread can you pls open a thread excluslively devoted to that issue?

@Sea1n

@Sam 

@Andrea1144 @Sean 

@Lizzie-What's with the system not alerting people that you are including them in a post? There are maybe at least 100 people commetting on this topic. Why won't they come up when I try to include them in a response?

[Lizzie]

Hello @Ann10,

Thanks for mentioning me here, I am sorry to see your concern over this. 

I was sorry to have to close one of the discussions on the Superhost Status here in the CC, because I agree it is certainly good for us to discuss this and hear what feels everyone has on this. Unfortunately, that discussion moved away from the original topic and had got a little heated, so sadly it was best to close it.

I know you have a couple of discussions open in Host Voice, however it would be great if anyone feels they would like to start a new topic on the Superhost program here in the Community Center. 

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Ann10]

@Lizzie @Sean - Heated? Heated or brutally honest and informative?  Is the thread still there? Can I pls see what you thought was heated? Can you start a new discussion like you did with this topic? It seems more official that way. Is there some reason why you don't want to do it? Is that the reason I can't communicate w others from that thread?

[Lizzie]

Hello @Ann10,

I think we may have got our threads tangled slightly, all threads are still visible here in the CC, even if it is close, but the thread I am thinking of by Marcus. I can't think of the thread by Sean. 

To prevent moving away from the topic at heart here–Strict Cancellation Policy, if you want to discuss this further we can speak via DM if useful. 🙂

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Ann10]

@Lizzie- When I try to send a message to anyone it says the person doesn't exist. I'm simply asking if you could start a thread about the topic of the new SH criteria because clearly people feel strongly about it, as was protrayed in the thread that you ended. For some reason, threads started by me don't go anywhere. I suspect as Sean said, it's due to manipulation which as he said upsets us because we have worked hard to get where we are and we don't need Airbnb giving so much power to  an ill intentioned person who can mess it all up for us. If these new programs were really meant to "help" us, all of us wouldn't be here expressing our Airbnb induced grief. Clearly people want to talk about the new draconian criteria. The reason you said you were shutting down the thread was because we were discussing other issues besides the 48 hour cancellation. Why only open a new thread for that, and not the other issue we were rabidly discussing which was the new SH criteria which we clearly are unhappy about. I noticed you started a thread about how to be a SH and people were submitting beautiful ideas, but do they know one ill intentioned person can shut the whole thing down? These are people who go into it knowing they are going to give you a bad review with 1 star if you don't give them what they want. It's doesn't matter how wonderful you are.

[Lizzie]

Hello @Ann10,

I appreciate your sentiment here and I know you feel very strongly about the changes to the Superhost Program. This is exactly why I think it would be better for you to start your own topic on this and encourage others to share their opinions. Of course, I can start a new topic on this, but different to this post I have created here on Cancellation Policy which is based on seeing the feedback already shared here in the CC and working with other teams to come back to you, at the moment I don't have any more "official" information specifically around SH status, apart from what you already know. Therefore, I do feel it would be best for you to start a new discussion on this and I would be happy to help in that discussion as much an needed. 

I hope this is helps. 

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Marie857]

 First off... the address can not be shared in that 48 hours for many security reason. 

[Lizzie]

Hello @Marie857,

Nice to meet you. I have shared an update on privacy relating to the cancellation policy in this topic. Please do take a look and hopefully this will help reassure you. 

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Chris1019]

Lizzie, four weeks ago you stated that "before the change goes into effect, we’ll share more about what we’re doing to address your concerns, particularly around protecting your listing details from being shared with guests who cancel. But for now, we’d like to clear up some confusion and help you better understand the new policy and how it will benefit the whole community"

It is now 1 week from the intended implementation date and we have heard NOTHING from you. I sincerely hope you are going to be delaying the implementation further due to your blatant lie?

[Lizzie]

Hello @Chris1019,

I am sorry to hear your frustration here, I have been gathering information from our Product Team, so I can update you on this as soon as possible. I posted an update yesterday and so I wanted to make sure you don't miss seeing this. Here is the link.

Hope to speak with you soon.

Lizzie

[Zojka0]

Interesting that AirBnB has also now disapplowe comments on the other thread, where the final change decision is announced.... You just want us to shut up, no?